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There’s no room for clowning about when it comes to risk management and maintaining the integrity of international business.
According to records of ancient Chinese history, the armies of the Chu and Song states were facing each other in readiness for battle in 630 BC when a Chu warrior, Xiong...
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This year is the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention. So, we went to Paris to meet Patrick Moulette, Head of the OECD Anti-Corruption Division. He explained that the global spread of negotiated settlements, particularly Deferred Prosecution Agreements, prompted...
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The telecommunications sector has taken some hits in recent years when it comes to anti-bribery and corruption compliance . Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement related to FCPA violations by Russia’s largest...
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Forget about the turtles. Today is International Ninja Day, but what we’re on about has more to do with regulatory risk than teenagers or (as far as we know) mutants. Why does International Ninja Day make us think ‘compliance program’?
International Ninja Day was the brainchild of...
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As the aftermath of corporate corruption and ethics scandals continue to play out in news headlines and courtrooms, spurring a continued search for expert advice and best practices on mitigating compliance risk . So, when a former compliance expert at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a Harvard...
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Petrobras has reached a $1.78 billion settlement with the DOJ and SEC over bribes to politicians and political parties in Brazil. This is the first time an enforcement action over FCPA violations has exceeded a billion dollars. The amount is bigger than the nearest two settlements combined, and the case...
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Companies are exposed to regulatory, financial, reputational and strategic risks, and the number of countries and NGOs with compliance expectations is on the rise. The best way to proactively manage these expectations? Risk-based due diligence and ongoing monitoring.
1—Regulatory risks...
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The U.S. Corporate Enforcement Policy, which incentivises companies to self-disclose bribery and corruption when they come across it, now applies to U.S. companies which are merging with or acquiring foreign companies. That’s according to a recent speech by a senior official at the Department of...
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No industry is impervious to bribery and corruption risk, but companies linked to energy industries, in particular, face elevated risks in order to reap the equally-high rewards. It’s a topic we’ve touched on in blog posts on Unaoil and Petrobras . But anti-bribery and corruption regulations...
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Just three years ago, Teva Pharmaceuticals, a drug-maker in Israel, disclosed to both the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice that an on-going internal probe had revealed possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and/or local laws. Ultimately...
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The makers of Jim Beam whisky have paid $8 million to settle allegations of bribing government officials to enter the Indian market. The settlement is a timely reminder of the continued threat of FCPA enforcement action , and the particular risks posed by third parties in the food and drink industry...
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Kathryn Higgs is Director of Transparency International’s Business Integrity Program. Prior to that she was head of ethics and compliance at Tesco and chief compliance officer at Balfour Beatty. In an exclusive interview with LexisNexis, she says that technology has increased the risk of bribery...
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Jean-Pierre Mean is an anti-corruption lawyer who played a leading role in the development of ISO 37001, a recent global standard by which companies can measure their anti-bribery and corruption policies. He is now leading the working group which looks after the implementation of the standard. Mr. Mean...
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Environmental and social issues driving change in the construction industry
Guest Post by Colleen Theron, Director Ardea
Since Russia and Qatar won their bids to host the FIFA World Cups in 2018 and 2022 respectively, the construction industry has come under the spotlight for their human rights...
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Nothing evokes the public and personal perils of high-level corruption more powerfully than photos of the billionaire chairman of a corporate conglomerate being led to a prison bus in handcuffs. Or almost nothing. Images of his 95-year-old wheelchair-bound father, the founder of the conglomerate, leaving...
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For the latest installment of our Q&A series, we spoke with Simon Baptist of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). More than 100 economists and experts at the EIU analyze political and economic risks for some of the world’s biggest companies. As Global Chief Economist and Managing Director...
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Universities in the United States received a record $43.6 billion in donations from individuals, companies and organisations in 2017. But recent scandals show that universities must not neglect due diligence on the source of these donations.
Top marks for university fundraisers
2017 was...
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